ARLINGTON, Texas — Paul Konerko
hit two home runs after the Chicago White Sox took advantage of a wild
pitch, two errors and two walks to go ahead in a 7-5 victory Thursday
over the Texas Rangers to avoid a three-game sweep.
Konerko leads the majors with 10
homers after hitting a solo drive in the eighth and a two-run shot in
the ninth. He also drove in another run with a sacrifice fly.
Rangers starter Scott Feldman pitched
into the seventh with a two-run lead, but was gone after an error and a
walk against the first two batters. Darren O'Day (0-1) gave up an RBI
single to A.J. Pierzynski and a walk to load the bases before Dustin
Nippert threw a wild pitch that allowed the White Sox to score the tying
and go-ahead runs.
Konerko led off the eighth just
clearing the 14-foot wall in left field to make it 5-3. His blast the
following inning went to the back of the Rangers bullpen in right-center
and proved to be the difference after Texas scored twice in the bottom
of the ninth off closer Bobby Jenks, making his first appearance since
Sunday in non-save situation.
Only one of the three runs allowed by
Gavin Floyd (1-2) were earned. The White Sox right-hander struck out
five with no walks over seven innings to end a five-game road losing
streak.
Feldman, a 17-game winner last season,
had failed to get past the fourth inning in either of his last two
starts. But the right-hander had a 3-1 lead and was facing the bottom
part of the Chicago lineup to start the seventh.
Alex Rios reached when rookie first
baseman Justin Smoak dropped a throw for an error, then Mark Kotsay
walked. O'Day pitched for the first time in a week after back stiffness.
After getting Juan Pierre on an infield popout that had White Sox
manager Ozzie Guillen dropping his head in frustration, O'Day loaded the
bases with a walk to slumping Gordon Beckham.
Nippert then threw a breaking ball
that bounced away from the plate. Kotsay scored from third and when
catcher Max Ramirez made an errant throw wide of Nippert covering the
plate, Pierzynski rounded third and came home to make it 4-3.
Beckham was in a 4-for-34 slide before
a leadoff double in the fourth. He advanced on a grounder and scored on
Konerko's deep flyball to right.
Josh Hamilton had three hits for the
Rangers, who wrapped up a 4-3 homestand.
Smoak, the switch-hitter playing his
seventh major league game, pulled a pitch into the second deck of seats
in right field in the fourth for his first major league home run. The
402-foot blast put the Rangers up 3-1, and he added an RBI double in the
ninth.
Texas went ahead with two unearned
runs in the third after Julio Borbon tripled into the left-center field
gap.
Joaquin Arias hit a grounder down the
third base line that chased Borbon back to the bag. But Mark Teahen
threw the ball wide of first base, allowing Borbon to score and Arias to
go to second before Hamilton's RBI double.
Notes
It was Konerko's 25th career
multihomer game. … The wind was blowing at 27 mph with gusts to 40
mph. … It was Rangers manager Ron Washington's 58th birthday. … 3B
Michael Young is the only Rangers player to start every game this season
after SS Elvis Andrus got his first day off. … Young had one of the
shortest groundouts possible. He had a check swing in the fifth, and the
ball rolled just in front of the plate. Catcher Pierzynski picked it up
and tagged Young, who hadn't even gotten out of the batter's box.